Something Wonderful
by Djablesse
Summary: A short KL one-shot. "We all search for the something wonderful in our lives."


"What would you like to see the most?"

There was a short pause, a few seconds of carefully weighed consideration beofre the child replied," Something wonderful."

Lacus laughed softly, but there were undercurrents of sadness in her voice. As she pulled the bedcovers up to the child's chin, she tried not to show her how much her words had affected her.

"Sleep tight," she said quietly, her voice breaking a bit, and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead. The child nodded and snuggled herself into a more comfortable position under the sheets.

As Lacus exited the dark room, it was all she could do to keep heself from breaking down. When confronted with people like Marie, who would have to live with the terrible effects of the war for the rest of her life, it somehow seemed unfair that she had escaped the war relatively unscathed when someone so young and innocent had had to pay such an awful price.

Marie hadcome to the orphanage only a few months ago, and right from the beginning, she and Lacus had struck up a special bond. She supposed she felt connected to her because of her unbending optimism, and her belief that she would someday be able to do all the things she had done before the war.

At the bottom of the staircase was Kira. Upon seeing him, Lacus underwent a whole bevy of emotions: happiness, excitement, and always most prominently, hope. Hope that today would be the day when he could accept the past and learn to live happily with her. Hope that this would be the day when he told her he loved her, and couldn't imagine his life if she wasn't in it.

But, as usual, she also feared her hope would turn itno no more than a crushing disappointment.

Though she would have liked nothing better than to just brush past him and go off and be alone somewhere, she recognized how incredibly rude and out of character that would be. That way why, upon reaching where he was standing, she asked, "How may I help you, Kira? Is there something you need me to do?"

He shook his head, and without a word, pulled her into his embrace. Lacus was too weak to resist him, and more importantly, she didn't want to, so she allowed her head to drop onto his shoulder and her arms to wrap slowly around his waist. She wondered how he had known that she needed someone to hold on to. That she had needed him.

She knew that some would think what she was doing ridiculous. Lacus Clyne, the pink princess of PLANT, was giving up her career, her _life_, to cater to the whims of a 16-year-old boy? She realized that there would be those who scoffed at her, and called her a fool. But she didn't let her naysayers get to her. Those were the people who didn't know hoe precious life was, and how it could be so easily taken away. Those were the people who had no idea of the concept of sacrifice, and that it was sometimes necessary in order to help save a life.

But, really, those were the people who had no idea what love truly was. And instead of being angry at them for their callous words, Lacus could only feel pity.

She was content here. She was content to live the rest of her life here, with him. It was a very possible fact that she and Kira may never be more than just friends. And she was fine with that. Really. She was down here to give him her support, to try to help him remember the boy he used to be.

But he wasn't a boy now, she thought. He was a man. The war had done that to him.

And so had the death...of Fllay Allster.

Upon rememvering that name, Lacus was unwillingly confronted with images of a lovely red-headed girl holding a gun to her throat. Unwittingly, she tightened her hold on Kira's shirt. It was so evil of her to only remember the bad things about a person. Even though Fllay hadn't been at her sweetest around her, there _had_ to have been some good things about her, some unique thing about her personality that had made her a nice person.

After all, Kira had once loved her. He probably still did. At the very least, she had been special to him. And that was what Lacus wanted most of all. To be special to Kira, to hold a special place in his heart.

She couldn't force him to love her. She couldn't force him to feel the same way about her as she did about him. All she could do was hope that someday he would notice the special look in her eyes for him, or the special smile she reserved only for him.

And hope that someday he would suddenly raise his head and see that all she had done for him so far, she had done out of love. Until that fateful day came, she was content to wait. And she would keep her faith alive.

The brush of his hand running through her hair brought her slowly back to earth. Pale beams of moonlight slanted across them, giving them an ethereal look that reminded one of music box figuirines.

Utterly embarrassed, Lacus realized that he'd been staring down at her for the past few minutes with a lsight smile on her face. Not only that, but their bodies were pressed dangerously close against each other, and she could feel his heartbeat pumping hard and fast through his chest. His warm, muscular chest. Flushing, she tried her best to pull away and salvage what little dignity she had left, be he wouldn't let her. This was one of the few instances in which he showcased his Co-ordinator strength. Startled, she looked up at him, trying to figure out the reason behind his sudden affection.

"Kira?" she asked him timidly.

He smiled wider before replying, "Yes, Lacus?", and then giving her no time to answer, he lowered his mouth to hers...

A scream sounded through the air, and Lacus removed herself from Kira's arms before rushing hurriedly up the stairs. She knew exactly where the scream had come from. Marie. Kira, recogniszing the voice also, was right on her heels.

She rushed into the room she had just exited to find Marie thrashing about on the bed, the bedclothes plastered to her sweaty form. Lacus wasted no time in offering her words of comfort, soothing, heartfelt words that were guaranteed to calm her down. And when once again, Marie was silent, Lacus thought to get to the cause of her nightmare.

She placed her hand on Marie's damp brow and asked her, "What happened to you, sweetie? What made you cry out like that?"

Marie turned her face into Lacus' palm. Her voice was shaky, the experience still too fresh to recount composedly. " A- A monster was after me. It wanted to kill me! It told me in this horrible voice that it wanted to drink my blood!"

Lacus felt sympathy for her childish nightmare. At some point or another, everyone had experienced a dream similar to that one. Dropping a kiss on her cheek, she reassured her, "Now don't you worry. No big, bad monster is going to touch you while Kira and I are here."

Marie blinked. "Kira? Kira is here?"

She opened her eyes to reveal pale, unseeing brown orbs. "It's times like these that I wish I could see the two of you."

Lacus resisted the urge to cry. It was amazing how this child could always do that to her. "You will, Marie. Someday you'll be able to."

Marie nodded, and unerringly turned her face in Kira's direction. Her request was simple, and child-like.

"Tell me, Kira, what do you see when you look at Lacus?"

But his tone was not. He looked poignantly at the pink-haired person in question, and then, in an aching tone, responded,

"I see something wonderful."


End file.
